★★★★★
Exercise
★★★★★
One day I was reading the page on Scoliosis, with interest, and thought I should share my story. I was diagnosed with Scoliosis when I was 11 or 12. (In the late 70's. ) So the traditional treatment was tons of x-rays to see how "off" my spine was (well, I guess that isn't treatment! ) If, at some point, my spine was 20 degrees off, that mean "backbrace" - my worst nightmare. I got x-rays every 3-6 months, depending on how I was growing. (The concern was that when I hit a growth spurt, it could get a lot worse. ) At one point, I hit the dreaded 20 degrees. The doctor I saw sent me for some physical therapy. I went once time and was given exercises to do at home. I am not the "athletic" type, but did do my exercises 6 nights a week for 15-20 minutes. I don't remember what they were, exactly, just basic back stretches and back strengthening exercises. My chiropractor has since given me similar exercises to do. I am sure you could find lots of ideas on the web.
Anyway, I did them for a month and then went to my next appointment. Praise the Lord, my back had corrected to 18 degrees! Well, 2 degrees doesn't sound like much, but it spared me from the back brace. I continued the exercises for some time. They continued to monitor my scoliosis and it did improve more--at some point it was about 11 degrees and another point it was 14 degrees, but I can't recall which was first. When I quit growing, I didn't have to go back anymore.
So, now I am 46. My scoliosis bothers me some (it didn't when I was young.) Pregnancy hasn't been great for my back. I do have trouble with my hip and neck at headaches, some. If I go to my chiropractor monthly it helps a lot. And, if I walk regularly, it helps. If I am good about doing back stretches and exercises it helps a lot. (I should be better about this than I am.)
Anyway, that is my scoliosis story. Mine was mild in the scheme of things, but I think the exercising did help the muscles to be stronger to keep my spine from worsening. It makes sense. If the spine is supported by strong muscles, it won't be so likely to bend or twist or whatever it does. Oh, I think swimming may be one of the very best exercises for scoliosis, but I didn't always have access to a pool growing up. One summer as a young adult I lived near a pool and swam 5 days a week and felt great.
Hope that will be of help to some parent whose child is dealing with this!
~Mama to Many~
